Suddenly, by Bonnie Burnard, is a hard book to read, at certain points. You know that Sandra, the main character, receives a diagnosis of cancer, but after the introduction in which she discovers the breast lump, it’s disconcerting that she is already dying as the first chapter begins, four years later. She has been taken from the hospital and brought home for her final days of around-the-clock care, and it’s a bit depressing to realize that you’re watching a woman’s dying thoughts for the last few days of her life. If this is the beginning of the book, just how morbid and depressing will it get by the end?
But as you read what Sandra is thinking, meet her various grownup children, other family members, and close friends, and root with her through the journals she kept as they all lived their lives together, things slowly begin to change. You start out knowing where they have all ended up, but gradually you also discover what brought them to this point and made everyone into the people they are. And while Sandra doesn’t consider herself to be anyone that special, you gradually recognize how she held everyone together and formed a centre around whom they all revolved.
The story is told in the present tense. This isn’t a form I usually like, but it seemed appropriate in this book. Even with Sandra’s reminiscences through the journals (where the narrative switches to past tense), she is very much living in the present moment. Through her eyes, we see that at the end of our lives what really matters is narrowed down to some crucial present- and future-tense concerns. How we relate to our families. How our friends will do after we’re gone. Whether our own legacy will help or hurt the people we love.
I really enjoyed getting to know Sandra, her husband Jack, and her closest friends, Colleen and Jude. It was moving to see how they have reached a point of equilibrium in their lives, after their past struggles. Even the women’s own impending loss of their friend, devastating as it will be, is going to be something they survive and eventually move on from with some grace. And you can tell that Sandra’s influence in their lives has a great deal to do with that. It probably even explains why Jack himself can move on, relatively quickly, despite how deeply he loves his wife.
I’m not sure how I’d rate this book, overall. On one hand, it’s a heartwarming story about the importance of an ordinary woman’s life. On the other, it does move rather slowly and you never quite escape the oppressive feeling, knowing you’re watching that woman die. I did think the gradual movement from her point of view to those of her friends – so that the story continues for a few chapters even after Sandra does leave us – was masterful.
That itself may be part of the message of the story: that we live, have an influence, then move on while the story continues without us.
Would I recommend that someone rush out to buy this book? Maybe not “rush,” but give it a look. Given the subject matter, it’s hard work sometimes. But the novel shows deep insight into human relationships and teaches grace in the face of the flow of life and death.
[Note: I worked with an uncorrected review copy, meaning there could be some changes in the published version. The book is published by Harper Collins.]
